Then Something Changed
by Goober8136
Summary: Following her close encounter with death, Jane comes to a startling revelation. This revelation causes her to push the woman she loves away. Will Jane be able to get Maura back before it's too late? Stupid summary, good story. Rizzisles most definately.


Not many things caused Jane Rizzoli to second guess her judgment. She knew full well that her decision to stay away from Maura was justified; how could she face Maura after such a realization? The whiskey she had drank remained stale on her breath; her thoughts remained swift and scattered, all seeming to revolve around one person: Dr. Maura Isles. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk in the cool, damp Boston night, and her brunette locks were gently tossed around by the wind. She cursed herself for treating Maura the way she had, but it was necessary to do so. She needed to subdue these feelings before she even dared to face Maura again. She was adamant in this decision. So why were her strides taking her closer and closer to Maura's apartment? Jane made up her mind what she was going to do about this situation; her mind said no, but her heart lead her otherwise. She continued down the sidewalk into the Boston night.

Aside from the various sounds of cars and wind, the quiet air was broken by the sound of Jane's cell phone. She dug around in her pocket, fishing for the obtrusive device. She read the caller ID and flipped the phone open,

"What's up, Ma?" she stated, rather shortly.

"You have some questions to answer, young lady." Jane's mother demanded. Jane quickly expelled a breath and pressed on,

"Regarding what, Ma?"

"The scene at the station today! Your brother was more than eager to tell me about it. How could you say such things to Maura? What has she ever done to you?" Angela yelled on the verge of hysterics.

"Ma, please, you don't understand, okay? I just lost my temper, that's all."

_Jane remained livid as the blonde entered the squad room with coffee and a brown bag in her hand. She began making her way to Jane's desk, and Jane became enthralled with every step she took. As she grew more and more attracted, she became angrier and angrier. She wasn't being given space. How could she be expected to figure this out if Maura insisted on coming around? Ever since the hostage incident last month, Jane had been struggling with the feelings for Maura that she couldn't understand. Ever since she woke up in the hospital calling Maura's name, wanting nothing more than to tell her she loved her, wanting to hold her hand, Jane had become short tempered. _

_Maura placed the coffee and the bag down on Jane's desk and greeted her with a smile,_

"_I know you've been neglecting to eat since the Alderson case was dropped in your lap, so I figured you could use some sustenance." Now Maura had been taking notice of Jane's shortness towards her, and refused to be offended. After all, Jane had been through a hell of an ordeal, how was she expected to act? _

"_Thanks, Maur. I appreciate it." Jane stated without as much as a glance in Maura's direction. Her brown eyes remained fixed on the computer screen in front of her. The blonde's eyes fell to the floor, obviously hurt by Jane's lack of recognition. Risking drawing attention to themselves in a relatively crowded squad room, Maura knelt down and whispered beside Jane's ear,_

"_Are you angry with me?" she asked Jane innocently._

"_No, Maura. I've been busy." Jane stated blankly. _

"_Are you sure that's all? Because you haven't really spoken to me much lately, and I just kind of thought you were frustrated with me for some reason." Maura quietly continued._

_Behind the women's backs, Frankie and his partner entered the squad room, and Frankie began making his way over to Jane's desk,_

"_No, Maura! I'm not mad at you, all right? Can't I just have a little bit of space before you start worrying your little head that something is wrong?" Jane stated loudly, uncaring of who was listening. Frankie froze in his steps when he heard the hostility in his sister's voice. Maura glanced around the room, slightly embarrassed at the scene Jane was causing, and became nervous at the sudden attention. Korsak rose to his feet, trying to think of how to calm Jane down. Maura began feeling a lump in her throat, but refused to allow Jane to see her cry,_

"_Jane, I didn't mean to pester you, I was just-"_

"_No Maura! All I needed was a little bit of breathing room for a little bit, and you can't give me that, can you? " Jane rose to her feet, blatantly shouting,_

"_You wanna know why, Maur? Because you're needy! That's why! You get anxious when you don't have my undivided attention and when you don't have my shoulder to cry on. Well guess what? I don't wanna be your damn crutch anymore, Maura! Find someone else to do that!" _

_Fat, salty tears were rolling down Maura's cheeks as each word from Jane's lips struck her with the force of a thousand blasts. Her lips parted as if to try and utter an apology, or an excuse, but she couldn't. She couldn't figure out how Jane thought that her rant was justified. Maura merely turned around on her heels and walked briskly out of the squad room. Jane stood with her temples pulsating. She glanced around the room and her eyes met Frankie's, and the gaze she got in return was one of surprise and disgust. All eyes were on her, and suddenly, she felt the magnitude of the stupidity of what she had just done. She glanced down at the cup of coffee and the brown bag of treats that Maura had brought. Then, some words scribbled in pen on the brown bag caught Jane's attention,_

'_Hope this brings you a little more fuel to go out there and get 'em, Love, Maura'_

_Jane cursed herself and ran out of the squad room after Maura. She hurried down the stairs, hoping to beat Maura to the exit. She emerged out onto the Boston street, looking around for Maura. She saw the blonde ME wiping the tears off of her cheeks as she got into a taxi cab. Jane quickly ran after her,_

"_Maura, wait, please!" The cab pulled away from the curb, and Jane cursed herself, breathlessly. She drug her fingers through her hair, watching the taxi disappear around the corner. Behind her, Frankie emerged from the station doors._

"_You wanna tell me what the hell that was?"_

_Jane looked up at the sky, as if looking for some sort of explanation as to why she had just treated the woman she loved like a common criminal. She shook her head, void of any explanation._

"_I dunno, Frankie, I just…lost my temper."_

_Frankie looked at his older sister, dumbfounded,_

"_You lost your temper? With Maura? What did she do that would warrant you flying off the handle and embarrassing her in front of our peers?" He shouted._

"_Just leave it alone, Frankie." Jane stated through clenched teeth. Frankie shook his head,_

"_No. You wanna know why? Because I've seen the way you've been treating her these past couple of weeks. She saved my goddamn life, Jane. Not to mention she motivated you to stop pitying yourself and to do your damn therapy. What did she do to you?"_

"_I don't know, Frankie! I don't know what's going on with me and her, okay? I don't know!" Jane stammered._

"_Jane, what is going through your head, right now?"_

_Jane brought her eyes to meet her little brother's. _

"_I keep thinking about her…all the time. I keep wondering what it would have been like if she had been shot instead of me. I have these urges to just…" Jane sighed in exasperation. Frankie looked at his sister with concern,_

"_Urges to what?"_

"_To hold her…to see her. To k-…"_

_A smile began to emerge on Frankie's face,_

"_To k-what?" he grinned._

_Jane began to smirk guiltily at him, and unhinged her jaw, trying to facially explain her inclinations. Frankie began to laugh,_

"_Oh my god, you're in love with Maura! Holy shit, how could I not see it! You were calling for her in the ambulance and all that…holy crap…so, why haven't you told her?"_

_Jane stared blankly beyond Frankie's shoulder,_

"_Because…I guess I never fully realized what I was feeling until somebody said it out loud. I decided to ignore it and ignore her rather than face it."_

"Listen, Ma. I'm going over to her place know to explain why I reacted the way I did, okay?"

"Bring some wine or some cookies or chocolate or something! She's not gonna want to speak to you empty handed, that's for sure."

"Good night, Ma."

Jane grinned and flipped the phone shut. At last, she found herself standing at the front door of the apartment of Dr. Maura Isles. She glanced down at her phone, checking the time: 11:32 PM. She cursed herself for the late hour, but knew that it was now or never. She knocked on the door a few times, and waited to hear those familiar footsteps.

The door opened, and to her surprise, Maura was not standing on the other side of the door. A tall, dark, handsome man with a bottle of champagne in his hand greeted Jane with a charming smile. Suddenly, Jane's heart dropped to her feet. Maura appeared from behind him,

"…Jane?" she asked in surprise. Jane's breath caught in her throat when she laid eyes on the stunningly clad blonde examiner with a scarlet colored dress that accentuated every curve of her body. Maura turned to her male guest,

"Would you excuse us a moment, Dean?" she asked. Dean smiled at Jane,

"It was good seeing you again." He grinned. Jane just smirked in disappointment. Maura exited on to the front stoop with Jane and closed the front door behind her,

"What do you want, Jane?" she asked, looking hurt. Jane took Maura's hands in hers, and Maura quickly withdrew them.

"Maura, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting these past couple weeks. I am so sorry for what I said to you in the squad room this morning, I didn't mean a word of it." Jane stammered.

"Obviously you meant some of it, or you wouldn't have said it." Maura replied, shortly. Jane knew she had her work cut out for her, but bravely, she continued.

"Listen, in the past few weeks, I've come to a realization, okay? Lately I've been having these feelings for you that I didn't understand. So rather than face you, possibly scaring you away, and telling you about them, I just ignored you and avoided you. And it was wrong of me."

Maura gazed deep into Jane's eyes and saw the compassion and genuineness of the apology Jane was giving. Jane halted, unsure of how to continue.

"Like what kind of feelings?" Maura asked.

Jane bit her lip and trying to figure out the best way to word what she had to say,

"I th-think, that…I may h-have…" Finding words to be failing her, Jane decided to take a rather aggressive tactic. Jane snaked her arms around Maura's waist and brought her lips to Maura's. She kissed her briefly but deeply, trying to gauge Maura's reaction. Jane slowly brought her lips away from Maura's, gazing deeply into her eyes. Maura smiled slightly, and snaked her arms around Jane's neck and returned her lips to Jane's. The kiss was deep and passionate, unlike anything Jane had ever felt before. Once they parted, Jane stammered,

"I think I'm falling for you, Maur….I think I've fallen in love with you."


End file.
